Internal combustion engine



July 2, 1935. 1.. M. WOOLSON 2,006,977

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed oct. 25; 1930 s Sheets-Sheet 1 L/ONEL MNaozsa/v, 6:455,

5) HA Ext-c073? EMMH if MOLSON.

July 2, 1935. L. M. WOOLSON 2,006,977

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Oct. 25, 1930 5 sheet -sheet 2 f 5 3L/ONEL M No 0; 50M DECEHSED,

' 15y HA5 x:a77e/x ZMMH 2? W00 501v July 2, 1935.

L. M. wooLsN 2,006,977

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Oct. 25, 1930 s Sheets-Sheet 5 Z/O/VELMir/004501 0:229:50,

8) EXECUTE/X EMMA f7 H0 045 pm.

Patented July2,1935 I x 2,006,977

f UNITED STATES PATENT; OFFICE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Lionel M.Woolson, deceased, late of Detroit,

Mich., by Emma F. Wo'olson, executrix, Bloomfield Village, Mich.,assignor to Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit, Mich.,a corporation ofMichigan 7 i Application October 25, 1930,'Serial No. 491,253

' sClaims (01. 123-139) This invention relates to internal combustionFig. 6 is sectional view-of the control mechaengines and moreparticularly to engines of the nism taken on line'66 of Fi 1 solid fuelinjection type. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the control mechanism Inengines of the compression-ignition type in for the regulating linkage;

5 which oil is injected into compressed air in the In the d i thereillustrated a radial 0;,

yl nd rs to form the fuel charges, it is imporinternal combustion engineof the compressiontant that the oil be introduced in a timedrelaignition type operating preferably "upon the tionwith the pistonposition on the compression il it Cyble principle n designed P strokesin order to obtain the greatest efiiciency t y for u as the D plant Of elU and thereby prevent a. smoky exhaust, and 1 plane. The barreldikecrank case it) is prohave found that the timing must 'therefore be VidedWith a" p a y of apertures "thmugh varied in a definite relation withthe regulation w c e radially extending cylinders H pmof the oil chargequantity to give the b t c ject, the cylinders having flanges l2 whichbearbustion results. i against the outer face of the crank case to It isa general object of the present invention Support them in position pairof Circular 15' to provide a'novel and improved form of t band membersl3 extend. around and engage nal combustion engine, the flanges I2 andare placed'in an initial ten-..

More particularly it is an object of the invension." a than thatdevelops? 3 3 3 by tion to provide in an oil injection internal comtheexplosion forcesvwhen the engine 15 Opera bustion engine of the radialcylinder type a The crank Cas includes a pair of trans- 20:

novel mechanism for regulating the quantity of Vefsely ,extendingn ingWalls alhldvthe the on charges and the time of their introduction rearend of the crank case is closed by an end into compressed air charges inthe cylinders. wan

Another object of my invention is to provide a The crank shaft 16extends through thecrank e ahar e I t case and is mounted in bearings I!carried by wteen tie tllittiteitfii itiite @321 321 52 the walls It d atiheiorweri end of the crank. control willisimultaneously vary the volumeof a 'lx pellier (n t; g g ig zzgfi the oil charges and the time oftheir introduction v i I 2, eztad t the q intothe cylinders in arelative manner such. 5 a an pls Ons e Conn 0 that the greatestefficiency will result throughout the fuelrange. the masterlrod A fi 9of iilventicin m Each of the cylinders is provided with an inlailtev thetgmlng of the ntrgductlod of 011 tegral head 2| and with an auxiliaryhead 22 0 m comprfiilon'lgnl Ion engmes so there being a neck portion 23on the auxiliarygg that smoke will be eliminated from the exhaust. headhavingv a Vnturi passage 24 which extends These and other objectsof theinvention will therethough and through the end Wall 2| f e appear T Pfyonowing fiescriptmn taken in the associated cylinders 'to serve asboth the air connection with. the drawings, which form 'a inlet-and theexhaust outlet-h 1 A valve 25 w srods 20 which are-pivoted aroundthe hubof .40" part of this Specification and in which: sociated *with theinner end of each Venturi is a rear end elevation? View of a passage,being normally'maintainedin'closed poradial internal combustion engine,partly broken Simon y a plurality f Springs, 2 and w and partly insection to illustrate thefuel chanically opened bythe rock lever 21'actuated mlectim mechanisms; by the push rod mechanism 28rwhich extendsFig. 2 is an enlarged view of one of the fuel within -the-crank case and:engages a slipper. 5 push rod actuating rock levers and a fragment 29The valve actuating mechanisms-are e of the actuating cam enlarged andshown in two ran d t hold the np during t o its P t I e haust and intakestrokes'of the pistons and the Fig. 3 'is a vertical sectional view ofthe envalves are held closed by t v prings during 50. gine; 5 thecompression and working strokes of the pis- 4 is a c ion l V w taken Onli e 4 tons. Air' drawn .intothe cylinders through o 1 w g t m ti of e Oth the Venturi passages duringthe suctionstrokes fuel P Tod actuating Okve s; of. the pistons is compressed during the comprese Fig. 5 is 'anenlarged sectional view of the sion strokes'of the pistons and-liquidfuel is master connecting rod and to the connecting' fregulatingmechanism for the control links sprayed into the compressed airchargesdur- '55 ing'the compression strokes by injection de' ing fuel tothe nozzle through the ports 36 whenthey are uncovered by the plunger34, such adjacent manifolds being connected by conduits 31. A suitablesystem is associated with the.con-

duits and manifolds to maintain a supply of fuelv oil under low pressuretherein so that whenever the plungers uncover the ports 36 oil will flowinto the nozzles and pump barrels to maintain them filled beyond thespace occupied by the plungers. Each plunger is moved in its injec-'tion stroke by-a push rod 38 which engages therewith and is moved in theopposite direction by the coil spring 39 arranged intermediate the pumpcasing and the barrel.

A dual cam 40 telescopes the rear end of the crank shaft l6 and issecured thereon by a retainer M which is fastened in any suitablemanner, and on the periphery of such cam is provided two sets of lobes,the lobes of one setbeingindicated by the numeral 42 and the lobes ofthe other set being similar and indicated at 43 in Fig. 3. This cam isdriven through reduction gearing from the crank shaftv and suchmechanism includes the gears, 44, 45, 46 and 41. There are preferablynine cylinders and, therefore; nine valve mechanisms and injectiondevices. The push rods of each of the valve actur ating mechanisms andthe fuel injection devices.

extend interiorly of the crank case and are arranged in a plane so thatthey will be actuated by the two sets of lobes on the cam 40. Looking atthe rear end of the engine, the crank shaft is rotated in a clockwisedirection and, consequently, the cam 40 will rotate in a counter- 1clockwise direction and the lobes of the cam are engaged by the rocklevers 28 which are associated one with each of the valve mechanism pushrods and the rock levers 48 which are associated one with each of thepush rods of the fuel injection devices. scribed formsthe subject matterof my Patent No. 1,896,387 of February 'I, 1933, and reference may behad thereto for a more complete description of the specific elementsherein referred to.

It is the main purpose of this invention to provide mechanism forcontrolling the time of the fuel charge injections and the quantitythereof and I have associated with the rock levers 48 a novel form ofmechanism for accomplishing such result wherein the timing varies in apredetermined relation with the variance of the volume of the fuelcharges. Shafts extend between the rear reinforcing wall 14 and.

the rear cover plate I5 in'a position to support the rock levers 48 and29. lever 48 is formed as a sleeve and is mounted upon an eccentric 50which is rotatably carried upon the shaft 49, while the other endisprovided with a pocket 5| into which the end of the associated push rod38 is seated. The eccentrics areeach formed preferably with an integralT-arm 52 which extends therefrom and the T-ends of such adjacent armsare connected by links 53, such links being pivoted at each endasindicated at 54 to one endof adja- The engine so far de-;

One end of each rock .only a reciprocating one.

cent T-arms. Between two of the T-arms, and preferably remote from theregulating mechanism indicated generally at 55, is provided a coilspring 2 designed particularly to take up any slack in the linkageconnecting the T-arms and to prevent circular movement of the linkage ineither direction which would normally tend to change the position of thelinkage and, consequently, the adjustment of the rock levers and theconsequent volume and timing of the fuel charges.

It will be seen that the T-arms and the connecting links provide aconnected substantially circular articulated regulating mechanism forthe mounting of the slippers and I provide control mechanism for movingthe linkage circularly in either direction through multiplied motion.This control mechanism inludes a cup-shaped casing member 56 which has atubular extension which engages against the outer face of the crank caseill and is secured thereto by a sleeve 51, projecting through an opening58 and formed with a flange engaging the interior face of the casing,and a nut 59 which is screwed upon the outer threaded end of the sleeveto clamp against the shoulder portion of the cup-shaped casing. The bellcrank lever Bil is pivoted at El to a bracket 62 which extends from theinner end ofthe sleeve 5'5, and one end 63 of the bell crank lever ispivotally connected to one of the T-arms of the regulating mechanismthrough means of the link 64. A link 55 is pivoted to the arm 56 of thebell crank lever by a pin 96 and is also pivoted to the inner end of asleeve 61, which partly telescopes within the sleeve 51, by a pin 61. Itwill be seen that axial movement of the sleeve 51 will be transmitted tothe link 65 which will rock the bell crank lever 50 upon its pivotalmounting 5!, and the bell crank in turn will move the link 54 in adirection to cause the linkage to travel in substantially a circulardirection, either clockwise or counterclockwise. The T -arms are rockedupon the shafts 49 upwardly or downwardly in accordance with thedirection of movement of the link 64 and the range of the pivotalmovement of the T-arms is preferably substantially 120.

In order to move sleeve 6'! axially, I provide the inner wall of theouter casing end with internal right-hand worm threads 68 and the outerhead 69 of the sleeve '5? with worm threads Ill, and intermediate. thethreads 2" and $8 I provide a cap H having external worm threads 12meshing with the internal threads 58 and with interior left-hand wormthreads 13 meshing with the threads in and the sleeve head 69. The pitchof the right-hand threads 68 and the left-hand threads 23 is the same sothat the sleeve 61 will be moved twice fast axially as the cap H moveswhen rotated by the arm M. The sleeve 61 is provided with a keyway 15into which extends the key 76 which is seated within a slot 1'1 formedin the extension of the sleeve 57. By means of this key connection,rotation of the sleeve 6'! is prevented and its movement is It will beseen that the differential threads will multiply the axial movement ofthe cap I! when rotated through the sleeve 6'! to the bell rank fill andin this manner only a small amount of cap rotation is required in orderto mo e regulating mechanism within its range of adjustment. Suitablelinkage (not shown) can be associated with the arm '74 for rotating thecap member H from a remote point.

V ii

isignedjpreferably for use with aeroplanes, the

cruising range is ordinarily. employed. during the greatest portion of;the engine operation; and it is duringthis range that I: desire the fuelto 'betadmitted the earliest so that there will be the: greatest lengthof time provided for thepropertmixingnof, the fuelcharge with theycompressed'air. chargeirotating within the cylinder, because I havefound that if there is,

not sufficienttime allowedfor this mixture the combustion is notcomplete and a'smoky exhaust results. -By this method of timing duringthe cruising range fu e1 adjustment;,I provide completefcombustion,which resultsin maximum efficiency of the engine, and eliminatesobjectionablesmoke' in the exhaust. As shown in Fig; 3,::t-he:movementof the pump plunger 34 after closing the ports 36 determines thequantity of fuelwhich is forced from the nozzle into the cylinder, andby regulating the range in which the plunger operates I, am able to varythe volume of the fuel charges. It will be understood that'when the pumpplunger movement is adjusted so that it does not close the ports 36 inits outermost; position, then no fuel oil will be forced from thenozzle. Through the adjustable relation of the eccentrics 50 upon thestationary shafts 49, the rock levers will be positioned so that thequantity in the fuel charges injected and-thetime of injection into thecylinder relative tothe position of the pistons during the compressionstrokes can bevaried. As shown in Fig. 2, rotation of the eccentric- 50,through movement of the arm 52 in an outward direction, will shifttheaxis upon which the rock lever-'pivotsa desired degree to effect thecam. contact with the rock levers to result in the desired -fue1 volumeand the 'timing of the injection. i I

I As shown in full lines in Fig, 2, the rock lever "is in a positionsuch thata maximum quantity offuel will be injected upon contacttherewithofthe cam lobes 42, and when in this position the eccentriccenter is indicated at A-and the heel portion of the rock lever isin'its most retarded, position with respect to the actuating face of thecam lobes which are moving in a counter-clockwisedirection. -In order toreduce the engine speed the arms 52 are moved outwardly'thus shiftingthe axis of the eccentric 50* in' the direction of the point indicatedat B and when the eccentric is between the points A and B, a sufficientquantity of fuel will be injected to cause-an aeroplanedriven bythe'engine to be driven at cruising speeds. 'It will be seen that uponmovement of the eccentric from the position shown in fulllines towardthe position in which the axis will be at the point B,

then the pivotal point of the rock lever is moved in a lengthwisedirection, opposite to the direction of the cam rotation, and is movedoutwardly from the axis of the cam, thereby causing the plunger stroketo operate in a rangecloser to the crank shaft and thereby reducing thestroke after the ports 36Jhave been closed. In

this manner the quantity of the fuel charge is reduced from 'whatiitis.when the rock lever is in the position shown in full lines in Fig.2.

The point D indicates the outermost position 7 to which the axis of thecam 50 can be moved by outward movement of the arm 52, and when theeccentric axis is in this position the stroke imparted to the plunger bythe rock lever move-- ment is not sufiicientto close the ports 36,thereforethe fuel injections are shut off. When the axis of theeccentric 50 is adjusted to'lie in a line between the points C and D;the stroke imparted by the rock lever to the plungerswill cause a fuelcharge volume to be delivered which will result in idling enginespeedand when such adjustment has been madethe time of fuel delivery isretarded beyond that resulting when the eccentric axis is at the pointB.

This retarded "timing. is due to the changed angular position of therock lever wherein the pivoted end is moved outwardly of the cam and,therefore, the rock'lever heel or cam contacting point is engagedfurther up on the effective face of the cam lobes. The structure, hereinshown, is of a character such that when a full fuel charge is beingdelivered, the injection into the cylinders takes place when thepistonis .in a

position approximately thirty-eight degrees beforetop center on itscompression stroke and when the eccentric axis is between the points 0and D, the injection takes placeapproximately thirty-five degreesjbeforethe pistonreaches top.

speed injections, greater time willbeallowed for the oil charges to mixwith the compressed air, charges in the cylinders and the mixtureconstituents will have a, longerv time to intermingle and vaporize sothat it is in much better conditionfor combustion than if the chargeswere delivered at a later time. As aeroplane engines run at cruisingspeeds substantially all of the time while in the, air, it is thereforeimportant that some provision of this character be made if engineefficiency is to result and I further because if engine efliciency doesnot result, then the incomplete combustion issues as an objectionablesmoky exhaust; but with .the regulating mechanism herein described, themaximum eiiiciency is obtained in the cruising speed and therefore asmoky exhaust does. not result. In addition to providing a regulatingmechanism which obtains the maximumeff ciency and, eliminates smokingduring cruising speeds, the regulating mechanism described fuelinjection devices. v

The retarded injection timing fuel charges provides for lower peakpressures in the cylinders than would otherwise be present and thus theengine can be constructed of a lighter weight material and withstand theoperating explosion pressures. I

While I have herein described in some detail a specific embodiment of myinvention, which I deem to be new and advantageous and may provides anefiicient manner of controlling .the

of maximum specifically claim, I do not desireit to be understood thatmy invention is limited to the exact details of the construction, as itwill .be apparent that changes may be made therein without de,

parting from the spirit or scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

'- 1. Fuel injection mechanism for internal combustlon enginescomprising a barrel having fuel inlet ports, a plunger in the barreladapted:to. close the ports and to discharge trapped fuel under highpressure, an engine driven cam, ac-

tuator'mechanism intermediate the plunger and ulate the rock leverposition and thereby con.

trol both the volume and the time of fuel discharges from the barrel,said eccentric member being associated with the rock lever whereby anintermediate position of said member in itsrange of rotation will placesaid rock lever in a position so that the effective stroke of the plun-'ger effects a smaller fuel volume injection than maximum and at the mostadvanced time in the'range of adjustment.

2. Fuel injection mechanism for internal com-.

bustion engines comprising a barrel having fuel inlet ports, a plungerin the barrel adapted to close the ports and to discharge trapped fuelunder high pressure, an'engine driven cam, ac-' tuatormechanismintermediate the plunger andthe cam including a pivoted lever, and meansfor shifting the position of the lever pivot eccentrically relative tothe cam, said lever when in an intermediate position of its adjustmentregulating'the plunger stroke so that it injects less than maximum fuelvolume at the most advanced time in the range of adjustment.

3. Fuel injection mechanism for internal combustion enginescomprising abarrel having fuel inlet ports, aplunger in the barrel adapted to close'theports and to discharge trapped fuel .under high pressure, an enginedriven cam,

push rod means associated with the plunger, an actuator element betweenthe cam and the push rod means, and means for adjusting said actuatorelement laterally relative to the push 'rod and radially relative to thecam to regulate the effective plunger stroke and the timing thereof, anintermediate position of the element in its range of adjustment causingless than maximum effective injection strokes of the plunger and at themost advanced timein the range of adjustment'.

4. Fuel injection mechanism for internal combustion engines having aplurality of cylinders comprising a fuel injection device of eachcylinder including a ported barrel and a pump plunger in the barreladapted to close the ports and discharge trapped fuel under highpressure, engine driven cam means, actuator mechanism intermediate eachplunger and the cam means including a rock lever, a shaft adjacent eachactuator mechanism, a member having an eccentric portion rotatablymounted on each shaft, the rock lever of the adjacent mechanism beingmounted on the eccentric portion of the member, an arm fixed to eachmember, link means connecting the adjacent arms, and means connected toone of the arms engageable to osjacent each actuator mechanism, eachrock lever' being mounted on the adjacent eccentric member, an arm fixedto each member, a coil spring connecting two adjacent arms, link meansbe tween the other adjacent arms, and means fixed to one of the armsoperable to oscillate the associated eccentric member, the other armsbeing oscillated with the arm with which the operating means isvassociated through means of the linkage means and the spring.

6. In a radial internal combustion engine having circularly disposedfuel injection pump mechanisms associated one with each cylinder andeach including a rock lever, fuel control mechanism comprising arotatably mounted eccentric for each rock lever, said eccentrics beingcircularly disposed relatively, a radially extending arm fixed to eacheccentricQmeans connecting the arms, and actuating means connected tooscillate one of the arms.

7. In a radial cylinder internal combustion engine having circularlydisposed fuel injection pump mechanism associated one with each cylinderand each including a rock lever, fuel control mechanism comprisingrotatably mounted eccentrics on which the rock levers are mounted, saideccentrics being circularly disposed, an arm fixed to each eccentric,resilient means connecting a pair of adjacent arms, link meansconnecting the other adjacent arms, and actuator means connected tooscillate one of the arms.

8. In an internal combustion engine having a plurality of radiallydisposed cylinders, a fuel injection device associated with eachcylinder including a ported pump barrel and a plunger in the barrelwhich serves as a valve to cut off fuel supply and to discharge trappedfuel under high pressure, and an engine driven cam, actuator mechanismintermediate each plunger and the cam comprising an adjustable portionadapted to regulate the stroke of the mechanism, an eccentric memberrotatably mounted adjacent each actuator mechanism, the adjustableportion of the actuator mechanism being connected to the adjacenteccentric member, a

radially extending arm fixed to each of the ec-

